Parkinson s Disease Is A Chronic Neurodegenerative Disorder

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by degeneration and cell loss of the substantia nigra, which causes disturbances of voluntary motor control [5]. It impairs ones ability to produce movements and is commonly associated with difficulties of daily living. Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects approximately 1.5% to 2.0% of the population over the age of sixty years old [2] and â€Å"†¦ it is estimated that 6 million individuals worldwide are currently living with PD,† [7] (pg323). Parkinson’s sufferers often experience physical distress and an altered quality of life. Pathophysiology, Risk Factors and Diagnostic Techniques A popular joke among college science majors is â€Å"you make my dopamine levels go all silly,† in reference to the physiological function of dopamine linked to hormone secretion and emotional behavior. However, dopamine plays an important functional role in movement the generation of movement [4]. 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Essay on The Importance of Report Writing in Law Enforcment

Aaron Khamosh October 5, 2012 The Importance of Report Writing in Law Enforcement The popular notion nowadays regarding police work is that it is all about action and high-speed pursuits. However a less frequently mentioned aspect of police work is documentation in the form of police report writing but it serves as one of the most important tools that a police officer can utilize to help them do their jobs. Police report writing is important for a number of reasons, mainly because of the vast number of suspects that police officers deal with on a daily basis. So it is virtually impossible for any police officer to remember every detail of every case without making any notes. In some cases reports are subpoenaed even months down the†¦show more content†¦Police reports should be written immediately after debriefing to ensure that the details of what happened are accurate because as the saying goes: memory fades. The officer will also have to refer back to their reports if they are subpoenaed to a trial and will be cross-examined by the defense. The officer should be able to easily defend the facts that they inputted into the police report. A good police report serves as a great tool to determine innocence or guilt and can make or break a case, depending on how detailed or accurate it is or is not. Emphasis ought to be put into training officers on how to write effective and accurate reports so their hard work is not wasted when the suspects are brought to trial. Without a good report, police officers lose their effectiveness, because even if the suspect is brought in, they can be released later down the road if the police report lacked details, information, or accuracy. A police report is the starting point to any case. It helps to refresh an officer’s memory or to paint a picture of what happened at a crime scene if one was not there at the time. A police report can determine facts and can prove guilt or innocence. Police report writing is one of the most important parts of being an effective police officer. It is used as evidence and testimony in trials to help determine guilt or innocence. A good police report helps an officer be better at his

Banc One Corporation an Analysis of Their Hedging Strategy free essay sample

The fall in stock prices put a damper on this drive for acquiring banks with potential for earnings and growth (it had 10 pending acquisitions worth $9 billion in November 1993). In this study we analyze the possible reasons for the fall in stock price and suggest ways to stop the hemoraging. In December 1993 Banc One held presentations in New York, Boston, and San Francisco to clarify its position on the use of financial instruments known as derivatives. Banc One used Interest Rate Swaps, the most common type of derivative instrument, to manage interest rate sensitivity. At these presentations, Richard Lodge, the chief investment officer, made clear that Banc One was not a dealer but an end-user of swaps. Lodge emphasized that the bank’s position was one of hedging and not of speculating. They first started using swaps in 1983, and subsequently, when the tax reform act of 1986 eliminated the advantages of municipal bonds as a tool for managing interest rate exposure, their dependence on swaps further increased. We will write a custom essay sample on Banc One Corporation an Analysis of Their Hedging Strategy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By 1993 the notional value of Banc One’s derivative portfolio had grown to $38 billion, a sum almost equal to half its assets! The amounts of Banc One’s swaps contracts depended on various factors such as: the loan demand, the slope of the yield curve, the amount of capital held by the bank, and the cost of cash market versus the derivative market. Interest rate swaps have several inherent advantages over bonds and other instruments: capital is preserved, liquidity is increased, swaps contracts enabled faster response to changes in market conditions, and swaps can be customized for duration and other variables. In the light of these overwhelmingly positive features of swaps and other similar instruments, Banc One was in the derivative market to stay. Hence, their task was to ease investors fears of these relatively new instruments and reassure them of the prudence of the continued use of these instruments. Banc One intended to be as transparent as possible in reporting its derivative dealings. In the rest of this study we examine the various issues involved in this complex case. USE OF SWAPS Like most regional banks, Banc ones natural balance sheet position is asset sensitive, hence interest rates on their assets reset more quickly than on their liabilities. On one hand 73% of Banc One’s assets are indexed to the prime rate, and thus vary with the market, while on the other hand, 50 to 60% of bank liabilities, mostly non-commercial loans (Certificates of Deposit) are fixed rate. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that commercial customers are more responsive to interest rate movements and will exercise their options to refinance quicker, unlike non-commercial customers who are mostly CDs holders which are considered sticky-fixed. The result of this asset sensitive position is that Banc One’s earnings rise and fall with interest rates. To minimize this interest rate exposure banks traditionally invested in short and medium-term U. S. Treasures and high quality municipal bonds as a hedge against their asset sensitive position. They would borrow at a floating rate and use the proceeds to buy U. S. treasuries and municipal bonds and thus increase their fixed rate assets. The result is a reduction in its asset sensitivity. Prior to 1986 municipal bonds had an added attraction in that banks could deduct 80% of the interest expense incurred on the money which funded their purchase. Furthermore, the income earned on the bonds was tax exempt. The result was that Banc One earned a large spread on the municipal bond hedge. The 1986 Tax Reform Act eliminated the tax deductibility feature of municipal bonds. Banc One looked for a substitute hedge that would provide high yield and safety. Mortgage backed securities (MBSs) seemed to foot the bill. However, mortgage backed pools provided lower after-tax return and carried a prepayment risk. Because the mortgagor has the option to prepay a mortgage, the holder of the MBSs are short interest rate volatility. This short position is particularly relevant when interest rates fall and mortgagors refinance mortgages en-mass. This is a double whammy for MBS holders since they become awash in cash when interest rates are low and have to re-invest this cash in an unfavorable environment. In addition, when interest rates rise MBS holders are stuck with a below market yield since now the mortgagors have a good deal and they hold on to their mortgages. To avoid the risks associated with MBS, Banc One held collatteralized mortgage obligations (CMOs). CMOs are pooled mortgage securities. The pool is divided into different groups or tranches which differ in priority of prepayment. The groupings allowed Banc One the ability to better gauge the speed of prepayment. But the prepayment risk still remained. By holding CMOs Banc One had sold a call option on interest volatility. Banc One was short volatility. Thus, the sale of the option increased the banks revenue though at the same time increased its exposure to interest rate volatility. Another disadvantage of CMOs was that they were less liquid than Treasuries or municipal bonds. However, the biggest drawback of CMOs was that the capital adequacy guide lines required that Banc One hold 50% of the principal value of the asset. Cash and Treasures required no risk adjusted weighting while municipal bonds required 20% and municipal revenue bonds required 50% weighting. In the late 1980’s Banc One realized that it could use swaps to adjust its floating to fixed position. The swap contract acted as a synthetic investment and held numerous advantages over Banc Ones prior risk management strategy. First, swaps improved Banc Ones liquidity. They also freed up capital for short term investment which provided cash when needed to repay liabilities such as CD withdraws. Second, the off-balance sheet accounting of swaps increased ROA and ROE. The receive fix rate swaps did not appear as an asset or a liability, but were disclosed in footnotes to the financial statements. Yet gains and losses would still be placed on the income statement. If the bank were to use a traditional hedge, buying a fixed rate bond and selling a floating rate security both would appear on the balance sheet: the net result being to lower traditional profitability measures. Finally, as outlined above capital adequacy requirements are a concern to all banks including Banc One. Swaps allowed Banc One to get around these requirements. HEDGING RISK vs MANAGING RISK With the success of its initial CMO and swap strategy, Banc One looked to replace these instruments with synthetic CMOs. This lead to the development of Amortized Interest Rate Swaps (AIRS). These swaps allowed for high yields in exchange for taking on prepayment risk. One of the major benefits of AIRs was the substantial reduction of capital adequacy requirements. This reduced capital requirement was cited by Banc one as one of the primary reasons for entering into AIRS. Richard Lodge was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying, Why in the world more banks do not use interest rate swaps to preserve capital, I dont know Its not an esoteric phenomenon anymore, WSJ February 1993. The AIRS also avoided unpredictable or idiosyncratic prepayment risk associated with MBS and CMOs. In addition the AIRS also were more liquid than traditional CMOs, an important consideration for a bank that might need or want to re-hedge its position. How do AIRS work? The AIRS replicated the mortgage backed securities with similar prepayment features. The notional amount of the AIRS were reduced or amortized if interest rates fell. As interest rates declined, the AIRS would amortize faster. Just like CMOs, Banc One would have to reinvest just when market yields were at their lowest. If market rates rose the instrument’s maturity would wind up longer than expected, again leaving Banc One with below market returns. What are the advantages of AIRS? When Banc One entered into the contract it received a fixed 120 bases points over the current Treasury security of the same maturity. By contrast, a comparable CMO would yield 100 basis points over treasury and a plain vanilla swap only 20 basis points over Treasury. Thus Banc One goosed up its returns by entering into the AIRS. In effect Banc One was willing to sell a call option on interest rate volatility in order to earn above market returns. The premium it received for selling this embedded call option was part of the 120 basis points it received. Thus Banc One was short a call option on interest rate volatility. The value of the call Banc One sold increased with interest rate volatility. Mortgage backed securities like CMOs, are tied to the high end of the yield curve because mortgages are long term obligations. The high end of the yield curve is less volatile than the short end of the curve. But the AIRS with quarterly payment periods are tied to the more volatile short end of the yield curve. The 20 additional basis points Banc One received on AIRS over traditional CMOs reflected the additional interest rate volatility sensitivity built into AIRS. The prepayment risk or amortization feature of AIRS complicated the task of measuring interest rate risk. The embedded option made Banc Ones earnings sensitivity nonlinear: Banc Ones returns now followed a convex path. This convexity or nonlinear risk profile because of the embedded options introduced a second order exposure to Banc Ones position. This second order derivative in effect exposed the bank to gamma sensitivity in addition to the delta sensitivity of interest rates. The bank now had significantly greater exposure to the volatility of interest rates. This volatility exposure was much greater than if the bank used plain vanilla swaps or Treasury securities to hedge their risks. The effectiveness of AIRS as hedging substitutes for Treasuries and CMOs depended critically on the cash flow characteristics of Banc Ones on balance sheet assets and liabilities. Banc One chose to trade the risk of increased exposure to volatility for higher earnings. This strategy would pay off for the bank if stable interest rates prevailed. When interest rates suddenly moved upwards in late 1993 and early 1994 Banc Ones interest rate volatility exposure hurt them by negatively effecting the AIRS. The question we must now ask is: Was Dick Lodge totally candid in his 1993 presentations? At the time he went on record as stating that Banc One used swaps only to hedge risk and not to speculate. Although Banc One certainly did use AIRs and other derivatives to hedge interest rate exposure, the above analysis reveals that in doing so Banc One took on exposure to interest rate volatility. Our feeling is that it would be naive to assume that Banc One did not know what it was doing. By trading volatility risks for higher returns the bank was taking a position on volatility. Labeling this as speculation may be somewhat of a strong statement, but there is no doubt that Banc One took a view and acted on it. We feel that Mr. Lodge must be more definitive in his explanation of Banc One’s derivative usage. MANAGING SWAP RISKS: BASIS RISK, COUNTER PARTY RISK Although swaps are superior to cash instruments in managing interest rate sensitivity, the use of swaps raised additional issues. Unlike Treasuries, or bonds, swap derivatives brought on basis risk and credit risk which Banc One had to deal with. The floating leg of most conventional swaps are indexed to LIBOR which changes daily. However, Banc Ones floating rate assets were mostly based on the U. S. rime rate which changed infrequently. The difference in the spread of these two indices caused a basis risk problem. To manage the bases risk Banc One entered into additional bases swaps. The bases swaps required Banc One to pay floating rate based on prime and receive floating rate based on LIBOR. This simple transaction allowed Banc One to confidently deal with the bases risk brought on by the original swap contract. The second is sue confronting Banc One was credit risk. U. S. Treasuries posed no credit risk and municipal bonds posed only minor credit risk. Swaps, however, exposed Banc One to the risk of counter party default. Swaps naturally mitigated this credit risk in two ways. First, the higher yield as compared to treasuries compensated for the additional credit risk. Second, while the entire principal of a bond or security is at risk, with a swap only the net payment, not the notional amount is at risk. Banc One went beyond these provisions by establishing strict policies for managing its counter party exposure. First, the counter parties it dealt with were rated no lower than single A. Second, Bank One constantly monitored its mark-to-market exposure to each counter party. Total derivative and direct lending exposure to any one counter party was limited by in-house guide lines. Finally, Banc One required that each counter party post collateral in the form of securities or cash against the credit exposure. The amount of collateral posted was equal to Banc Ones possible losses in one month from an extreme movement in interest rates. In addition, counter parties were required to post additional collateral as the market value of the swap changed over the life of the contract. The net result was that Banc One was not exposed to sums due for which it was not fully collateralized. If a counter party was to default, the mark-to-market value of the collateral would allow Banc One to enter into a new swap with a new counter party to replace the defaulted agreement. These collateral agreements were unique. Banc Ones solid credit rating allowed it to obtain these collateral agreements. Furthermore, Banc One disclosed the identity, notional amount, amount of collateral, potential exposure, and net credit exposure of each counter party. A list of the counter-parties with whom Banc One had swap agreements in October 1993 is shown below. STOCK PRICE Banc One’s stock price dropped dramatically during the latter half of 1993 from $44. 36 to a year end close of $35. 57, nearly a 20% drop. There are many theories to explain why the stock price dropped and why shareholder wealth suffered. We will attempt to explain the theories we subscribe to. First, Banc One was focused primarily on earnings volatility risk and had a strategy of entering into swaps which would enabled them to dampen their susceptibility to asset interest rate sensitivity. Based on their analysis, Banc One determined that an interest rate fluctuation of more than + 100 basis points was unlikely. Given this assumption, the decision was made to enter into AIRS to take advantage of higher yields for such low interest rate volatility. This strategy theoretically allowed Banc One to gain an additional 100 basis point advantage over Plain Vanilla Swaps (PVS). This swap strategy essentially guaranteed them constant positive earnings over the next ten years in the range of + 100 basis points. By effectively locking in earnings over this very small range, Banc one exposed itself to large volatility risk. Based on their analysis, the firm predicted that low volatility in interest rates would not have an effect on shareholder value. But, because stock value is the sum of all expected future cash flows discounted back at the current discount rate, its value is effected by changes in the discount rate. As interest rates increased by 175 basis points between November ‘93 and October ‘94, Banc One’s earnings decreased drastically. This reduction adversely effected the stock value. Intuition tells us that if the cash flows decrease over time and the discount rate continues to increase, the value of the stock will decrease. If we look at the mathematical implications, the formula shows us that decreased earnings means the numerator is becomes smaller while the increase in ‘r’ forces the denominator to become larger. The ultimate result is the stock price decreases. Second, the fact is that in 1993 the business world was still trying to sort out the issues associated with using derivatives, especially exotic swaps, to decrease interest rate risk. The industry was comfortable with the use of CMOs and plain vanilla swaps as risk management tools. The use of AIRS was viewed as speculative in nature and was not completely understood by many analysts and investors. Banc One’s derivative portfolio consisted of numerous AIRS and generated a large portion of the firm’s income (around 26%: $442 million out of $1. 7 billion). Although Banc One tried to formulate an extensive teaching and disclosure plan, the level of acceptance and understanding was not adequate to maintain stock value. Unfortunately, after the disclosure meetings many of the analysts and investors were left with more questions than before. This resulted in analysts and investors making subjective assessments of the firm’s future cash flows as being risky. Their assessment carried with it a risk premium, which in effect put downward pressure on stock prices. Again, intuition tells us that if the expected cash flows are risky the discount rate rises: the stock price and shareholder value will decrease. Mathematically, the denominator is increasing causing the stock price to decrease. Finally, the market was extremely leery of the use of exotic derivatives such as AIRS as risk management tools because of the events in Orange County, California, and cases involving Banker’s Trust at the time. The disaster that befell them and the apparent risks associated with the extensive use of derivatives only served to discount the positive aspects of Banc One’s strategy. Furthermore, the disclosure that Bankers Trust was Banc One’s largest counterparty (see chart on page 11) did not help quell investors fears. The market fears forced the analysts to subjectively add a risk premium, which caused downward pressure on the firm’s stock prices. As with the point above, intuition tells us that if the expected cash flows are smaller while the discount rate is rising, the stock price will decrease. INTEREST RATE VOLATILITY AND EARNINGS As we saw above, Banc One did not disclose that they had actually increased their exposure to volatility in order to earn higher yields while hedged against small movements in interest rates. During the same ten year time period, prior to 1993, Banc One had also swapped into a position to keep a relatively stable stream of earnings for the next ten years of 2. 37%. How do these two issues relate to each other and how did they adversely affect the stock and firm values? First, the issue of volatility risk is significant to Banc One because they essentially counted on interest rate movements being very small over the life of their swap agreements. They demonstrated this by entering into numerous AIR swaps, which hedged out almost all risks associated with small interest rate movements while exposing them to large volatility risk. There are two reasons why this may have happened: improper analysis of possible future interest rate fluctuations or a deliberate assumption of volatility risk in return for higher yields. Second, is volatility in earnings of significant risk to Banc One? The firm had adequately hedged against variability in earnings by essentially swapping into a situation where they were receiving a higher overall interest rate than they were paying out. By doing this, they locked in a fixed spread and stabilized their earnings. The stabilization of earnings through the year 2004 effectively resulted in a no growth earnings situation. Again, although the firm was hedged against small changes in interest rates, a large swing in interest rates would drive down earnings and force the discount rate at which future cash flows are discounted to rise, lowering the value of the stock. With the firm hedging against their exposure to changes in earnings over such a small range in interest rates, they have inadvertently exposed themselves to another increased risk in volatility. It is evident to us, that the exposure to volatility risk was the key ingredient to the devaluation of Banc One’s stock prices. The need for minimized volatility in earnings is clearly essential. There must be an appropriate balance between the value of the spread gained by investing in AIRS and the amount of exposure a firm faces in terms of interest rate volatility. DISCLOSURE Banc One realized early on that their derivative usage was being characterized as speculative in nature and that many of its investors were simply unclear on the use of derivatives as a hedging tool. Under these circumstances, the Chairman and CEO of Banc One, John B. McCoy, embarked on a plan to make full disclosure of Banc One’s off balance sheet derivatives portfolio activity. This discussion will focus primarily on the disclosure associated with one particular derivative, the interest rate swap. During the ten years prior to 1993, Banc One had made a significant move away from the use of United States Treasury securities to manage interest rate sensitivity and instead dealt with interest rate risk by careful selection of interest rate swapping arrangements. By the end of 1993, Banc One held an off balance sheet derivatives portfolio of notional value of approximately $38 billion which amounted to a sum nearly half that of the assets on its balance sheet. How important is a strategy of disclosure to Banc One? First, one must analyze the pros and cons. The most important advantage in McCoy’s opinion, was that disclosure was the only way to educate the public in the area of derivatives usage. Knowledge was the key to the market’s positive assessment of Banc One’s strategy. Further, a positive assessment of their strategy was essential to the value of the firm’s stock. Full disclosure of off-balance sheet activities was not required by the FASB and was certainly not a common practice among the other banks utilizing derivatives. What are the cons associated with disclosure of financial activities not required? One important disadvantage is that disclosure can signal other firms in the industry as to your competitive strategy. It may also dispel other firm’s fears of your ability to conduct business in a price warfare environment and actually force competitors to engage in such practices. Given that the pros far outweigh the cons in this case (and for the sake of our argument), why were McCoy’s efforts to disclose the firm’s derivatives package and its portfolio management strategy in late 1993 and early 1994, largely unsuccessful? It is our opinion that in the hopes of educating investors and analysts, McCoy and Lodge actually confused them about Banc One’s overall derivatives strategy. We hold McCoy and his financial staff accountable for several reasons. The most important reason is that in disclosing the off balance sheet figures, they did not adequately represent the risk position of the firm after the hedge was set in place. Our analysis follows: Because Banc One relied heavily on Amortizing Index swaps (AIRs), it put itself in an excellent position to manage interest rate sensitivity between the ranges of + 100 basis points. This very important decrease in exposure to small interest movements was only one half of the story and was highlighted in their derivatives presentations in New York, Boston, and San Francisco. However, the firm neglected to highlight the significant increase in exposure to interest rate movements above and below 100 basis points. Consequently, some investors and analysts were able to foresee the shift in convexity in the value function of Banc One with the heavy use of AIR swaps, and the omission of this information further added to their skepticism. The failure to address this issue had the effect of painting a picture that was to good to be true. Discounting investors’ knowledge/ignorance of all the specifics involved in derivative risk management techniques, the natural reaction of risk conscious investors is to question the perfect investment’s merit and perhaps even to put a subjective negative twist on the firm’s future cash flows and ultimate value. This inadequate disclosure contributed to the decline in the firm’s stock price. RECCOMMENDATION A basic tenet of finance is that in equilibrium the rate of return the market expects on an investment increases as the risk involved in the investment increases. A stylized representation of this is shown in the figure below. Thus, a corporation that assumes a risky strategy should anticipate the market to demand a correspondingly high return for its investment. We saw that a sizable portion of Banc Ones fixed rate investments were in mortgage backed securities, CMOs, and AIRs. These three instruments all involve prepayment risk (in addition some of the bank’s liabilities, like CDs, also involved prepayment risk). The diagram below shows the value of an AIR contract, which is really a synthetic CMO, with respect to a plain vanilla swap as a function of interest rates. Notice that, for a range of interest rates AIRs pay better than plain vanilla swaps but outside this range the value of AIRs drops below that of a plain swap. Hence, because of the three fixed income instruments: mortgages, CMOs, and AIRs, which have similar yield curves, the earnings for Banc One corporation assumes convexity with respect to interest rate fluctuations as shown in the diagram below. When this position is hedged using plain vanilla swaps the earning curve for Banc One is as shown below. As can be seen in the diagram below, for a range of interest rates Banc One’s earnings are high but if the rates were to fluctuate outside this range its earnings would drop dramatically. Banc One took this position hoping that interest rates would not fluctuate beyond this range. It took this risk in its pursuit of higher yields and lost its bet since interest rates rose higher than it had anticipated in late 1993 and early 1994. Banc One should realize that the market is efficient and the fall in their stock price was in part due to the volatility created in its earnings because of its large fixed rate portfolio of AIRs, CMOs, and mortgages which are exposed to volatility risks. Hence our recommendation to Banc One is the following: †¢Banc One should reasses the amount of risk they want to assume and expect a corresponding yield: There are no free lunches. †¢Re-hedge their fixed rate investment portfolio to reduce its volatility risk and be satisfied with a lower yield. †¢ BIBLIOGRAPHY Banc One Corporation (A): Harvard Business School Case, Dale O. Coxe, June 1995. Banc One Corporation: Asset and Liability Management. Harvard Business School Report, Ben Esty, Peter Tufano, and Jonathan Headley. Derivative use in Banks: The six ironies, Robert Albertson, Goldman Sachs Co. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol 7, No. 3, p. 52, Fall 1994. The Use of Index Amortizing Swaps by Banc One, Christopher James and Clifford Smith, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol 7, No. 3, p. 54, Fall 1994. Comments on Banc One, Ethan Heisler, Salomon Brothers, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol 7, No. 3, p. 59, Fall 1994. What Can Bankers Learn About Hedging Strategy From The Banc One Case, Edward J. Kane, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol 7, No. 3, p. 61, Fall 1994. Futures Options Swaps Forwards Default Risk AIRs Risk Management Lectures Home

More than a Change of Heart free essay sample

â€Å"I’m not related to you!† My twelve-year old self made this sentiment perfectly clear to my father across the kitchen table. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with his half of my family tree. I would have been mortified if anyone had found out that my Uncle Jeff would soon become â€Å"Aunt Joanne†. The news could not have come at a worse time. I was just about to enter middle school, the biggest adjustment I would make since starting kindergarten. Now I had to figure out how to handle this family situation as well. Couldn’t Jeff have timed this better for my sake? Was that really too much to ask? He was going to tear apart the family with this news, not to mention his marriage with Barbara, my favorite aunt. Over the next few weeks these angry thoughts took a front row seat in my mind, resulting in hasty scribbles in my journal about how horrible and inconsiderate Jeff was and unexpected outbursts at friends and family. We will write a custom essay sample on More than a Change of Heart or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the coming months this juvenile anger subsided and my curiosity about thesituation grew. Since Jeff and Barbara lived in Boston, I couldn’t keep tabs on the small physical changes that my uncle was going through. Instead, multiple changes were thrown at me all at once. During one visit, his pierced ears and the lack of his trademark facial hair were the first indications that this was no joke; he was actually going to go through with becoming a woman. At this point I started to acknowledge that I would someday be okay with this decision. That came sooner than I anticipated. A few months after seeing Jeff with his pierced ears, I met Joanne. She was the same height as Jeff, wearing size 11 women’s shoes and a short brunette wig. Her voice was higher than his, but her smile was also wider and her hug tighter than Jeff’s had ever been. She was genuinely happy and comfortable as a woman. That day I surprised myself by becoming the first in my family to begin accepting that the person who stood in front of me was the same person I had known and loved all of my life. These days I see my aunt Joanne more regularly. I am comfortable with the woman she is today and the confidence with which she carries herself. She is the first transgender member of the boards of Point Foundation and of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, as well as a columnist for â€Å"The Advocate†. Joanne’s openness about her transformation has helped me to be comfortable speaking to others about transgender people and my experiences with them. Of the many things her involvement in the LGBT community has taught me, the most important has been to embrace everyone’s differences, whether it be race, religion, sexual identity, or even something as simple as someone’s taste in music. My appreciation is much greater now for the unique qualities that each person brings to a relationship. Living in my very homogenous community, had I not gone through this with Joanne, I would have been ill-prepared for interactions outside of my town with people of completely different backgrounds and experiences. My world has been exponentially expanded, and I’m more willing than ever to meet new people and embrace our differences. I know now that having a transgender aunt will never define me, but that my aunt’s transformation helped to bring out positive traits in me that more accurately define my character. I am emotionally stronger, I stand up for what I believe is right, I am loyal to my friends and family, and I am a more patient, accepting person. I am proud of myself for becoming one of Joanne’s biggest fans and supporters. Most of all, I am grateful that Joanne and I could embark on our journey into womanhood together.

The Battle at Issus

The Battle at Issus Alexander the Great fought the Battle at Issus soon after the Battle at the Granicus. Like his father Philip, the glory-seeking Alexander aimed to conquer the Persian Empire. Although greatly outnumbered, Alexander was a better tactician. The battle was bloody, Alexander suffered a thigh wound, and the Pinarus River was said to have run red with blood. Despite the injury and the steep cost in human lives, Alexander won the Battle at Issus. Alexanders Opponents After the recent Battle at the Granicus, Memnon was given command of all Persian forces in Asia Minor. Had the Persians followed his advice at Granicus, they might have won and stopped Alexander in time. In Upset at Issus (Military History Magazine), Harry J. Maihafer says Memnon was not only astute militarily, but doled out bribes. A Greek, Memnon almost persuaded Sparta to back him. As Greeks, the Spartans should have been expected to support Alexander, but not all Greeks preferred rule by Alexander to rule by the king of Persia. Macedonia was still Greeces conqueror. Because of mixed Greek sympathies, Alexander hesitated to continue his eastward expansion, but then he sliced the Gordian Knot and took the omen as urging him on.​ The Persian King Believing he was on the right track, Alexander pressed on his Persian campaign. A problem emerged, Alexander learned he had come to the attention of the Persian king. King Darius III was at Babylon, moving towards Alexander, from his capital at Susa, and gathering troops en route. Alexander, on the other hand, was losing them: he may have had as few as 30,000 men. Alexanders Illness Alexander became seriously ill at Tarsus, a city in Cilicia that would later become the capital of that Roman province. While recovering, Alexander sent Parmenio to capture the harbor town of Issus and watch for Darius approach into Cilicia with his perhaps 100,000 men. [Ancient sources say the Persian army had much more.] Faulty Intelligence When Alexander recovered sufficiently, he rode to Issus, deposited the sick and wounded, and traveled on. Meanwhile, Darius troops gathered in the plains east of the Amanus Mountains. Alexander led some of his troops to the Syrian Gates, where he expected Darius to pass, but his intelligence was flawed: Darius marched across another pass, to Issus. There the Persians mutilated and captured the debilitated people Alexander had left behind. Worse, Alexander was cut off from most of his troops. Darius crossed the mountain range by what are called the Amanic Gates, and advancing towards Issus, came without being noticed to the rear of Alexander. Having reached Issus, he captured as many of the Macedonians as had been left behind there on account of illness. These he cruelly mutilated and slew. Next day he proceeded to the river Pinarus.- Arrian Major Battles of Alexanders Asian Campaigns Battle Prep Alexander quickly led the men who had traveled with him back to the main body of the Macedonians and sent out scouting horsemen to learn exactly what Darius was up to. At the reunion, Alexander rallied his troops and prepared for battle the following morning. Alexander went to a mountaintop to offer sacrifices to the presiding gods, according to Curtius Rufus. Darius enormous army was on the other side of the Pinarus River, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to foothills in an area too narrow to give an advantage to his numbers: [A]nd that the deity was acting the part of general on their behalf better than himself, by putting it into the mind of Darius to move his forces from the spacious plain and shut them up in a narrow place, where there was suffficient room for themselves to deepen their phalanx by marching from front to rear, but where their vast multitude would be useless to the enemy in the battle.- Arrian Major Battles of Alexanders Asian Campaigns The Fighting Parmenio was in charge of the those of Alexanders troops deployed to the seaside of the battle line. He was enjoined not to let the Persians get around them, but to bend back, if necessary, and stick to the sea. First, upon the right wing near the mountain he placed his infantry guard and the shield-bearers, under the command of Nicanor, son of Parmenio; next to these the regiment of Coenus, and close to them that of Perdiccas. These troops were posted as far as the middle of the heavy-armed infantry to one beginning from the right. On the left wing first stood the regiment of Amyntas, then that of Ptolemy, and close to this that of Meleager. The infantry on the left had been placed under the command of Craterus; but Parmenio held the chief direction of the whole left wing. This general had been ordered not to abandon the sea, so that they might not be surrounded by the foreigners, who were likely to outflank them on all sides by their superior numbers.- Arrian Major Battles of Alexanders Asian Campaigns Alexander stretched his troops parallel to the Persian forces: Fortune was not kinder to Alexander in the choice of the ground, than he was careful to improve it to his advantage. For being much inferior in numbers, so far from allowing himself to be outflanked, he stretched his right wing much further out than the left wing of his enemies, and fighting there himself in the very foremost ranks, put the barbarians to flight.Plutarch, Life of Alexander Alexanders Companion Cavalry headed across the river where they faced the Greek mercenary forces, veterans and some of the best of the Persian army. The mercenaries saw an opening in Alexanders line and rushed in. Alexander moved to gain the Persians flank. This meant the mercenaries needed to fight in two places at once, which they couldnt do, and so the battle tide soon turned. When Alexander spotted the royal chariot, his men raced towards it. The Persian king fled, followed by others. The Macedonians tried but were unable to overtake the Persian king. The Aftermath At Issus, Alexanders men rewarded themselves richly with Persian loot. Darius women at Issus were frightened. At best they could expect to become the concubine of a high-status Greek. Alexander reassured them. He told them not only was Darius still alive, but they would be kept safe and honored. Alexander kept his word and has been honored for this treatment of the women in Darius family. Sources Upset at Issus, by Harry J. Maihafer. Military History Magazine Oct. 2000.Jona Lendering - Alexander the Great: Battle at the IssusAlexanders Sacrifice dis praesidibus loci before the Battle of Issus, by J. D. Bing. Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 111, (1991), pp. 161-165. The Generalship of Alexander, by A. R. Burn. Greece Rome (Oct. 1965), pp. 140-154.

History and Evolution of Vinyl

History and Evolution of Vinyl Polyvinyl chloride or PVC was first created by the German chemist Eugen Baumann in 1872. Eugen Baumann never applied for a patent. Polyvinyl chloride or PVC was never patented until 1913 when German, Friedrich Klatte invented a new method of the polymerization of vinyl chloride using sunlight. Friedrich Klatte became the first inventor to receive a patent for PVC. However, no really useful purpose for PVC was found until Waldo Semon came along and made PVC a better product. Semon had been quoted as saying, People thought of PVC as worthless back then [circa 1926]. Theyd throw it in the trash. Waldo Semon - Useful Vinyl In 1926, Waldo Lonsbury Semon was working for the B.F. Goodrich Company in the United States as a researcher, when he invented plasticized polyvinyl chloride. Waldo Semon had been trying to dehydrohalogenate polyvinyl chloride in a high boiling solvent in order to obtain an unsaturated polymer that could bond rubber to metal. For his invention, Waldo Semon received United States patents #1,929,453 and #2,188,396 for the Synthetic Rubber-like Composition and Method of Making Same; Method of Preparing Polyvinyl Halide Products. All About Vinyl Vinyl is the second most produced plastic in the world. The first products from vinyl that Walter Semon produced were golf balls and shoe heels. Today, hundreds of products are made from vinyl, including ​shower curtains, raincoats, wires, appliances, floor tiles, paints and surface coatings. According to the Vinyl Institute, like all plastic materials, vinyl is made from a series of processing steps that converts raw materials (petroleum, natural gas or coal) into unique synthetic products called polymers. The Vinyl Institute states that vinyl polymer is unusual because it is based only in part on hydrocarbon materials (ethylene obtained by processing natural gas or petroleum), the other half of the vinyl polymer is based on the natural element chlorine (salt). The resulting compound, ethylene dichloride, is converted at very high temperatures to vinyl chloride monomer gas. Through the chemical reaction known as polymerization, vinyl chloride monomer becomes polyvinyl chloride resin that can be used to produce an endless variety of products.

Real Estate Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Real Estate Economics - Essay Example Above that trigger point, extra supply is subject to a rising supply price because of diminishing returns in the construction industry. The level at which replacement cost is currently set depends on land prices, as well as on construction and other development costs. Land prices are determined by supply and demand in the land market. Commercial property owners compete amongst each other, and against other land uses, for desired land sites. All the inputs to the supply process are covered in the model and equilibrium conditions are assumed to be met. Other characteristics of land economics are heterogeneity of location and use, high transaction costs, immobility, commodity that can be consumed and saved, and long term delays in the form of market adjustment process. While there is dependence on the consumer's income to some extent, real estate is a branch of economics where the consumer is not completely dependent on his own capital. In a majority of investments, the consumer has to depend on external factors like bank finance since the cost of land and buildings is high when compared to that of other commodities. The variables that are associated with demand in land are demographic factors like size of the population and changes thereof, income elasticity of consumers, price elasticity of land/buildings, depreciation in building value, mortgage and loan rates etc. Other factors such as accessibility to roads and infrastructure, surroundings, facilities available in the vicinity too influence the demand and price of real estate in any region. Other factors that play an important role in determining the demand for land are the extent of industrialization, type of land use (commercial, residential), role of developers and land planning agencies i n the area/country. 3- To what extent is government intervention in real estate markets a matter of externality management (50 marks) The real estate market, as in any other market is governed by demand and supply of real estate and market factors. When a competitive market reaches equilibrium, the supply exactly meets the demand and prices are stable. However, in real estate economics, there are a lot of external influences, which can lead to a change in market equilibrium. Other than the consumers or owners of the property and the sellers or suppliers of the property, there are other vested interests like speculators, who can either hike up the prices or bring it down according to their own whims and fancies. In every real estate cycle, the price of real estate slowly starts rising with rising incomes, reach a peak and then slowly start falling. Home prices cannot rise faster than incomes forever. Easy credit, lax lending standards and panic buying raise them to impractical levels. Weak borrowers also get loans. People with good credit borrow too much. Speculators too join the circus. At a particular point of time, the supply overshoots the demand and the bubble bursts. There is oversupply of housing and credit facilities, but there are no borrowers. It is at this stage that government could start its intervention. There could be sops like a cut in the rate of finance or lending. Borrowers would be in a better position to repay their

Modern Project managing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Modern Project managing - Essay Example As such, this student has reviewed an article within the Wall Street Journal which is specifically directed towards project management and the means by which project managers ultimately succeed or fail. The article itself, entitled, â€Å"Dangers of Clinging to Solutions of the Past† approaches the topic of expertise and it applications within project management from a different perspective than almost all other research articles or readings in the press have. Rather than assuming that a great degree of experience is necessarily represents a net asset to the organization, the approach of the author of the article, as well as the information that was reviewed is that the prior knowledge of a manager is not a pre-requisite to success and worse still may represent a very broad range of negative carryovers from incorrect ways that problems had been tackled in the past. As a function of understanding these nuances, the following brief paper will seek to highlight the ways in which traditional understandings of the importance of experience significantly deviate from the perspective that the author of this particular piece of journalism has concluded. Although it is of course incorrect to take a piece of journalism such as the Wall Street Journal and draw a wide range of inference from it with regards to the way in which project management should necessarily proceed, this alongside the other forms of inference that the student can glean from reading management textbooks and a range of peer reviewed articles help to paint the picture of how aspects of so-called â€Å"common sense† deviates significantly from what practicality and actuality demand. Whereas our current model of understanding change and leadership center around finding an individual with the sage knowledge to guide a firm, organization, or group of employees towards the new paradigm, the fact of the matter is, as discussed by the article’s author, that oftentimes the change leader wit h little to no prior experience within such a context can oftentimes evoke a more positive transition than one who has a storied past illustrated during a broad career. As the author notes, this is the result of the fact that few if any change managers that have a broad level of experience have been proven to integrate positive change in an organization. Conversely, those managers that have little if any real world experience have to do what the author refers to as â€Å"learn on their feet†. In this way, rather than forcing an approach that has somewhat worked in the past into a situation, department, or business in which it is more than certain to fail. Conversely, the ability of the young and/or otherwise inexperienced leader to invoke a level of positive change is aided by his lack of baggage from previous employers. Although experience in and of itself is not a detriment to the leader’s progress, the reliance and understanding upon this experience as a means of ef fecting the new change is. As the author of the article states, the fact of the matter is that the inexperienced leader has a definite advantage upon the competition due to the fact that he/she is not polluted by pre-conceived notions of what would ultimately provide a net benefit to the firm or

Comparing Roman Empire and Han Dynasty Essay Example for Free

Comparing Roman Empire and Han Dynasty Essay Roman Empire and Han Dynasty had many things in common and uncommon.During their falling era they were experiencing facts which were really similar to each other therefore emphasizing on them will make the topic.And also their characterstics were similar in their way of ruling and living so also they will be included. Firstly,to talk about their characteristics we can see that they both had well organized bureaucracy the only difference was , Han’s bureaucracy was based on Confucian ideas whereas Romans’ bureaucracy was based on their own law and classic learning. Another common characteristic about them was their emphasis on family.Han Dynasty’s were patriarchial and Romans’ were pater families.They both attached importance on engineering and made great accomplishments such as, roads,cannals,the great wall by Han Dynasty and aqueducts,domes,sewage systems,central heating by the Romans. To talk about their similarities during their fall we can say that they were affected deeply by the Germanic Invasions factor which caused both of them to loose power.They were both abrogated by the same conflicts since Germans had a great military power to constantly oppose to them.They had the same problem that caused them not to be able to protect themselves.It was their monetary problem that made them defenseless to Germans. Another problem they were both facing was they problem of not electing a new ruler that will reconstruct them and unify them. They were in total decline in morals and values.Their public health was jeopardized so they needed to find a way out to the political corruption however seeing that these empires fell it means that these needs were not provided and they could not be unified which was their common problem. To conclude , we discussed their common qualities and problems from their characteristics to their fall.It was obvious that they had many things common so this was the reason why they both fell.If they had been able to find a way out to their common problem they would have remained.

Stepladder of Evolution in Picasso’s Acrobat’s Family with a Monkey Ess

Stepladder of Evolution in Picasso’s Acrobat’s Family with a Monkey In Picasso’s "Acrobat’s Family with a Monkey", the stepladder like orientation of characters demonstrates an evolutionary procession. At the top of the ladder sits the father, a high and mighty figure, like that of King Arthur. He towers above his family as if a king on a throne, looking down upon his royal subjects. He is the sole ruler and therefore must set himself apart from them. This is reflected in the position of his arms, which he keeps close to his body, like the independent child who refuses to hold his mother's hand when crossing the street. Even his manner of dress holds a stately aura. The yellow hat upon his head is golden and pointy similar to that of a royal crown worn by the great rulers of the past. The fringes on his costume surround his neck like the golden mane of a fearsome lion, king of the jungle. The leotard, itself, is an almost fleshy tone like soft peaches in the summer. It reminds one of an acrobat in costume during his death-defying tightrope act, high above the audience. His shoes, however, are thin and black like a bat in the night, contrasting sharply with the rest of the colors of the painting. It were as if they are demanding the well-deserved attention they have earned in all the effort it had taken them to get to the top. Yet, he looks down at the child with great hope, as would a king to his newborn successor, who would follow in his footsteps, performing great deeds to society and loved by all his people. It is also a look of unconditional love that cannot dissipate even if the child were to accidentally burn their house down or fall on top of him, breaking a few ribs in the process. On the next step is the mot... ...tates. At the bottom of the rung, rests the monkey who is lower than all of the other characters in the painting both socially and evolutionarily. He is like the serfs on a feudal manner who are expected to do the bidding of their master and unable to leave. The monkey’s lack of clothing and ignorance thereof also contributes to his subordination, thereby making him less powerful than humans. The lack of clothing is similar to the condition of Adam and Eve before they ate the apple. Their eating the apple allowed them to realize their nakedness, thus elevating them to an unignorant state. His contentment towards this disposition further exemplifies the blissful nature of his ignorance. Picasso’s spatial positioning deliberately portrays the position of each member of society and their respective roles in the hierarchy of social order and evolutionary theory.

Main computer network system Essay

An overview of the system requirements (hardware, software, data, personnel, procedures and ethical issues). ? Hardware We need computer hardware and communications hardware for our business. Base on that, we need: 1. Main computer network system controls main business operations of the supermarket 2. Sub computer network system for advertising activities for advertising activities such as creating a homepage, making fliers, and direct emailing to the customers. 3. Security system monitors gates and the inside of the supermarket. We need to purchase operating system software and other application software we need for our company such as: 1. Supermarket application package (for the main computer network system) large scale business computer application designed for supermarket retailers developed by high technology computer companies such as Microsoft and IBM. Including these systems and functions: Operation systems and networking systems e. g. Windows NT and IBM OS 2. 0 Security function e. g. password for entering databases Front-end operation system e. g. cashiers Store opening and ending system. Accounting and financing system Inventory control system and sales analysis system Human resource information system Correcting errors, updating and supporting system by the software company 2. Publishing software and homepage builder for advertising activities such as creating fliers, managing a homepage of the supermarket, and creating html based e-mails for the customers. 3. Operation system (for the security system) Runs the security system for the supermarket. We need it but it is usually already installed and included when we purchase the security system.

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Oil and gas production, drilling, and trading is a big issue in the United States. Currently, much of the oil we use comes from foreign sources. Many argue that we should reduce foreign oil dependency by reducing our consumption and by drilling for oil right here in the U. S. For approximately forty years, a debate has been brewing about oil exploration and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is 19,000,000 acres of land in northern Alaska, a U. S. state. It is the largest protected wilderness in the United States and was created by Congress under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980†³ (Wikipedia Foundation, Inc) More specifically, within the ANWR, a 1,500,000 acre area located between the Beaufort Sea(northern border), Brooks Range (southern border), and the Prudhoe Bay (western border) is the center of controversy. This area is commonly referred to as section 1002 because when the ANILCA was created, in section 1002 of the document, the decision of how to manage oil and gas exploration and development for this area was tabled. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. ) There are various opinions with points for and against oil drilling in the ANWR's section 1002. At this point, I am against it. I recently read a quote by U. S. , President, Barak Obama in Wikipedia. It states, â€Å"In a League of Conservation Voters questionnaire, Obama said, â€Å"I strongly reject drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because it would irreversibly damage a protected national wildlife refuge without creating sufficient oil supplies to meaningfully affect the global market price or have a discernible impact on US energy security. † (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc)I have to say, I agree with President Obama 100%. This area is true wilderness. According to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is the most diverse ecosystem in northern Alaska. It is home to many Native Indian tribes, a l arge population of porcupine caribou, some large whales, and other smaller animals not popular elsewhere. Not to mention, it is on the coastal line of Alaska, which opens it up huge varieties of marine life and migrating birds from all over. Many people don't realize that oil drilling is big business. It will not only require oil drilling equipment and stations, but there will be roads, airports, housing, shopping, etc.This means much of the land will forever be affected. Many animal habitats and natural migratory and breeding patterns may be disrupted. The air and water will be polluted from vehicle traffic, the oil drilling itself, and many other human behaviors. Human waste will need to be dealt with. You name it, it will be a problem. Another concern is the potential for accidental pollution. As a matter of fact, in 1989, there was a bill on the table and it looked like it might make it through the Senate, to allow the drilling, when the infamous Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska.It was the largest spill of its kind where 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil spilled out of the tanker and into the surrounding waters, killing and injuring countless wildlife and destroying their habitats. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) Lastly, experts are not even sure how much oil is even there. A U. S. Geological Survey published in 1998 stated there was between 5. 7 billion barrels to 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil and natural gas liquids the ANWR's coastal plain area. As compared to an estimated 120 billion in the rest of the U. S.It is estimated that drilling in area 1002 would amount to about 1% world oil production by the year 2030. (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) This would create such a small impact on the products and services generated at the end user level. In other words, the rich oil investors will get richer and people like me will be no better off. The benefits do not outweigh the risks. I say not to drilling in the ANWR! Works Cited Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Arctic Refuge drilling controversy. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Ed. 7 September 2012. Web. en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Arctic_Refuge_drilling_controversy. 30 September 2012.

Cry, the Beloved Country essays

Cry, the Beloved Country essays Insanity- a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world The main characters apparent madness or irrational behavior plays an important role in the book One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest by Ken Kesey. The purpose for the madness in One Flew over the Cookoos Nest is slightly more obvious than in other books. The plot revolves around it. The madness is necessary for the discovery of the societal problems. Craziness makes the story happen, but the madness of the characters is not simply a mental disability, but rather, a reasonable adjustment to the society they are exposed to. "We are victims of a matriarchy here, my friend." Harding's explanation of life in the hospital seems be true. While the Combine undoubtedly contains both male and female workers, its main representatives in the book do appear to be women. Heading it in the hospital is Nurse Ratched, who dominates all men- even ones like Dr. Spivey who are supposed to be her superiors. Her power is expressed in very sexual terms: she is, McMurphy says after his first group meeting, "a ball-cutter." Other women include Mary Louise Bromden, who forced her husband to give up both his name and his Indian ways; Mrs. Bibbit, who dominated her son at home just as Nurse Ratched dominates him in the hospital, and more minor characters like Nurse Pilbow, who is so terrified of the power McMurphy shows she becomes a hysterical mess. Such women gain their power over men in two ways. The first is that they repress men's sexuality. Harding and McMurphy agree that Nurse Ratched's control comes from the fact that men can't be sexually aroused by her; Mrs. Bibbit has prevented Billy from becoming a functioning adult by preventing him from losing his virginity. Another really important point is that they destroy men's ability to laugh. McMurphy says, "A man go around lettin' a woman whip him down till he can't laug ...

Memory Joggers to Frame Your Lessons

Memory Joggers to Frame Your Lessons A difficulty that many students have after spending a day in class is crystallizing the key points and retaining the information taught. Therefore, as teachers we should devote time in each lesson to helping students see through the details to the core of what is being taught. This can be done through a combination of verbal and written cues. Following is a look at some of the ways that you can help students as they work through daily lessons in your class. Start With the Focus for the Day State What Students Will Be Able to Do at the End of the Lesson objectives convert fahrenheit to celsius temperature scale celsius Daily Agenda Posted With Topics/Subtopics Provide Students With a Notes Outline Materials and Equipment Lists Activity Structure End of the Day Review Relevance for Tomorrows Lesson Just like television shows end seasons with cliffhangers to whet the appetite and excite viewers for the next season, ending lessons by building interest for the next day can serve the same purpose. This can also help frame the information taught in the larger context of the unit or overall topic being taught.

Police Discretion Position Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Police Discretion Position Paper - Essay Example Several myths, such as an inevitable abuse of power, are unsupported by the research. The main causes of police discretion are offender variables, situational variables, and systemic variables. The exercise of police discretion arises in many situations, such as domestic violence and juvenile delinquency, and can often lead to positive resolutions. Discretion is a valuable part of police work. The issue of police discretion, while a seemingly natural aspect of the duties of a law enforcement officer, is a topic which generates much debate. Historically, the concept of police discretion was thought to be associated with police corruption and with an "extralegal" use of police power (O'Connor, 2005: np). Indeed, the recognition of police discretion as a legitimate aspect of police duties was not formally recognized until 1956 when it was formally identified and discussed by an American Bar Association study. This revelation, that the police did in fact use discretion in the course of their duties, generated a substantial amount of controversy: "When it was finally exposed, people like the American Friends Service Committee (1971) called for its abolishment, and police administrators sought a clampdown on discretion (administrative rulemaking)" (O'Connor, 2005: np). In the beginning, though police discretion was an integral part of daily police work, it was viewed with suspi cion. A more modern view posits that police discretion is a valuable and necessary part of police work. To this end, calls for the elimination of police discretion have been replaced by proposals to more carefully define when and how police officers should use discretion. This modern view operates on the assumption that police work is often complex, that situations are rarely neat and simple, and that discretion results in better police work than a mechanistic application of the law. As noted by a National Institute of Justice Research Report, "Each tactical choice by the police, each citizen's response, counter responses by each, and changes in other variables in the context (for instance, intervention of strangers) create a fluid, ever-changing encounter" (1997: pg.35). This essay will define what is meant by "police discretion", a number of common myths associated with the concept, and the real-life sources of the need for police discretion. The essay will then present ten practical illustrations of police discretion in operation in order to compare situations in which discretion is used appropriately and situations in which discretion very well might be abused. Police Discretion: Definitions, Myths, and Sources Discretion means many things and encompasses a tremendous variety of different situations. From a theoretical point of view, it has been referred to as the making of decisions where the law is not clear, where the police officer has alternative courses of action, and where a cost-benefit analysis cautions against the rigid application of the law. Some scholars have defined police discretion as judgments made within the realm of a "regulated autonomy" (De Lint, 1998: pg. 2) and others have characterized discretion as a police officer's role as a public servant whom is sworn to balance the intent of the law against the interests of

Population & migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Population & migration - Essay Example Population increase/explosion in developing countries contributes to problems such as malnutrition and poverty but does not have much negative effects in developed countries as they are well endowed with several resources. On the other hand, population decrease in developing countries can be seen as a blessing as it would boost the capacity of available limited resources and opportunities to cater for the needs of the population, but in highly industrialized countries it will be seen as a curse because of shrinking available workforce. This paper investigates problems of population explosion in India suggesting ways that can be used to control it. According to Webster’s dictionary, population is defined as the whole number of inhabitants or people in a given country whereas population explosion is pyramiding of numbers of a natural population. Population change is mainly influenced by death rate, birth rate and migration. Increase in birth rate and migration increase population whereas increase in death rate reduces population. Thus, population is calculated by subtracting a sum of deaths and emigration from a sum of births and immigration. Effects of population growth in India include increased environmental population, increased unemployment and illiteracy levels and increased depletion of resources. Increased environment pollution has resulted from increased establishment of more factories to satisfy the needs of the people in the country. When the fossil fuels are burnt to generate energy required by the increased factories, green house gases such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere contributing to air pollution and global warming. Also, the factories discharge their industrial wastes into rivers. Equally, the increasing numbers of people exert pressure on the available natural resources; water resources are over-utilized, forest cover

Contextualising Welfare II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Contextualising Welfare II - Essay Example 5; Parr,  2014). Unfortunately, various instances of racial discrimination in the Barclays Premier League illustrate the prevalence of racial discrimination in the country (Cunningham,  2014). Although there are various anti-discriminatory legislations in the UK, their effectiveness is minimal in the workplace, education, and other social institutions (Sanghani,  2014). According to Wallis and Robb (2012), gender and racial or ethnical discriminations are rampant in the modern British workplace. The most affected by these forms of prejudice are ethnic women from minority groups. In a specific case in London, Lynn and Davey (2013) report that a letting agent refused a black tenant based on his racial affiliation. In the British community, social class plays a significant role in determining personal life success. In a study by Lucinda Platt (2005), the survey of individuals from minority groups in England and the Wales shows that parental social status is essential in predicting the educational and employability of the children. In a similar report by Johnson and Kossykh (2008), the same results were emphasized. For this reason, it is clear that social class is an imperative factor in affecting personal success in life. Sociological perspectives and theories offer the best explanation of the continued existence of discrimination in the UK society. According to the functionalists, discrimination plays an important role in establishing social inequality that promotes social coexistence. However, the conflicts theorists view the same as a class struggle where the wealth (majority Whites) oppress the poor (minority) to obtain more resources. On the other hand, the social interaction theories perceive prejudice as a social construction and interpretation aimed to achieve a specific objective for the majority. Nonetheless, the reality of gender and racial discrimination in the UK is the lack of commitment by the government and the people to end

Evolution Of Management Theory

Evolution Of Management Theory Management has existed throughout the time of man. Management throughout the passing of time has evolved and segregated into different theories however the end game, remains the same that is to achieve a certain goal while working together as a team. There are various definitions to the term management. Lawrence Appely defines management as Management is the development of people and not the direction of things, management is personnel; administration (Agarwal, 2010, p.4). Whereas William Spreigel terms it as Management is that function of an enterprise which concerns itself with the direction and control of the various activities to attain the business objectives. Management is essentially an executive function; it deals particularly with the active direction of the human effort. (Agarwal, 2010, p.4). Management is the integrating force in all organized activity. The verb manage comes from the Italian maneggiare (to handle especially tools), which in turn derives from the Latin manus (hand). The French word mesnagement (later mà ©nagement) influenced the development in meaning of the English word management in the 17th and 18th centuries. (www.wikipedia.com. 2012. Management. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management. [Accessed 13 December 12].) Management has been put to use throughout the history of mankind. Management like thought has been seen right from the building of the pyramids to emperor Ashoka conquering all of India or bharat as it was and still is known. Management is extremely important in the functioning of any task, or organisation in order for it to be successful. If there is a fault in the management it can lead to failure of the task or improper functioning of the company. It is difficult to trace the exact origins of management but one can see its evolution throughout time. In chronological order the very first piece of evidence of management theory can be seen in Chanakyas Arthashashtra, followed by Sun Tzus The Art of War, followed by Niccolà ² Machiavellis The Prince, followed by Adam Smiths The Wealth of Nations. The 19th century later gave rise to classical economists such as and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873 Adam Smith (1723-1790). These economists provided an academic background on resource-allocati on, production and pricing issues. Alternatively, visionaries like James Watt (1736-1819), Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) Eli Whitney (1765-1825), and developed fundamentals of procedural assembly such as standardization, quality-control procedures, cost-accounting, inter-changeability of parts, and work-planning. The first complete principles of management appeared around the year 1920. The Concept of Corporation (published in 1949) a well-known book that was written by Peter Drucker (1909-2005) was one of the earliest books on applied management. Science of management written by Henry R Towne was published in the 1890s, The Principles of Scientific Management conceptualized by Frederick Winslow Taylor was published in the year 1911, Applied motion study was published in the year 1917, which was written by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.J. Duncan wrote the first college management textbook in 1911. Yoichi Ueno was the first person to introduce taylorism to Japan in 1912 and he became the first management consultant of the Japanese-management style. Ichiro Ueno, his son pioneered Japanese quality assurance. As one can see from the above examples we know that management has been influenced by various disciplines such as economics, political science, psychology, anthropology and even literature. Earlier management theories aimed at getting to know these newcomers of the industrial life at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century in Europe and the United States. THE CLASSICLAL OR UNIVERSAL SCHOOL The oldest form of the school of management of thought is the classical school. It dates, back to the twentieth century. The classical or universal thought deals with how to manage work organisations more effectively. There are three areas of management that can be classified under the classical school or universal school of thought. They are as follows- 1. Scientific management 2. Bureaucratic management 3. Administrative management The beliefs of the classical or universal school of thought- Fredrick Taylor was the founder of the classical school of thought. Earlier, the body of the classical school of thought implied that employees, have only psychical and economical needs, and that the concept of job-satisfaction was in fact alien to it. This school advocates high specialization of labour, centralized decision making, and profit maximization. The basic components compounded by Taylor for the scientific management school are as follows- Determination of standards of performance. Functional foremanship Responsibilities of management. Differential piecework of system of wage payment Mental revolution. Henri Fayol, and Max Weber are exceptional contributors of Classical School of management thought who made great contribution and laid the grounds for contemporary management. THE BEHAVIOURAL OR HUMAN RELATION SCHOOL The Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company conducted experiments by Mayo,Roethlisberger and others for the first time on the human aspects of organizations in the 1930s. This approach had previously been ignored by the classical theorists. This school is dubbed as neo-classical as it follows the academic form of classical theory and emphasises the human element of management as a counterpoint in contrast to the impersonality of classical theory. These experiments led to the development of new premises. These premises were the motivation to work; morale and productivity are related to the social conditions among the workers and the supervisor, and not to the psychical conditions at work. Considerable contributions made by Kurt Lewin, Chris Argyris,Rensis Likert ,and Douglas McGregor have helped shaped this school for being whatever it is today. Abraham Maslow a renowned psychologist developed a very widely recognised hierarchy of needs. This is now known as Maslows hierarchy of needs. This is a concept of motivation based on the needs of every human being. His concept had three assumptions. They are- The needs of a human being are never truly satisfied. Human behaviour is purposeful and is motivated by the need for satisfaction. The needs of a human being can be classified according to a hierarchical structure of importance, from the lowest to highest. The above three premises prove that human beings need a motivation in order to get the job done. This theory has been highly useful for managers in order to help motivate their employees. THE MANAGEMENT SCIENCE OR QUANTITATIVE SCHOOL Mathematicians, physicists, and scientists came together in order to solve the problems caused by World War II. The key feature of this school is its use of mathematics and statistics to help in determining production and operation problems. This approach helps in solving technical rather than human behaviour problems. It comprises a diverse team of experts from whatever fields the problem being attacked calls for. The team members then analyse the problem and then make a mathematical representation of it. Therefore they would change some aspects of the equation to see what would happen in the real world. The most important contributions of management science are in the areas of operations management and production management. (Duening, 2003) THE CONTENGENCY/SITUATIONAL OR ALL DEPENDS SCHOOL The contingency school was birthed in the 1970s. As the very name suggests this school of thought is based on possibility. In this approach managers deal with each problem differently based on the situation and its belief lies in evaluating many options to solve one problem. This theory recognises that there is no one best way to design organisations and manage them. It weighs down the variables and then decides based on the varying factors as to what would be the best solution. This approach is highly dependent on the judgement of the manager in any given situation. It focuses on the inter-relationships within and among the subsystems as well as between the organisation and its environment. (Agarwal, 2010) For example-when taco bell asked itself what would ensure its success, they revamped their business based on the simple philosophies of customers value food, provision, and the aesthetic appeal of the restaurant. Taco bell then hired new managers who would ensure that their philosophies were put into action thereby ensuring their success. (Anon., n.d.) THE SYSTEM SCHOOL The system school of thought sees the organization as one whole purposeful and united body rather than seeing it in its different parts and pieces. Its early contributors include Lawerence J.Henderson,W.G.Scott, Daniel Katz, J.D Thompson, etc. This approach helps the managers to look at the broader picture. This school conveys to us that every single action done by any section of the company affects the other segments of the company in varying degrees. In this school managers make their decisions only after they have weighed down each and every single option as to if that decision has been taken, how it will affect the company. The managers cannot function based on their department alone; they must take the whole company into account. In order for them to run smoothly they must be in constant touch with the other departments of the company as well, so that they can base their decisions accordingly. CONCLUSION Management as one has seen above is under constant development. It always has more room for change for its own betterment. It has existed since time immemorial. The schools of thought are simply the different approaches that are used by any person, or organisation in order for it to achieve its goals. In this document there are 5 schools of thought that have been explained. They are the classical school, the human relations school, , the management science school, the contingency theory school. They are summarized as follows- The classical school- the classical school consist of three theories, namely. Scientific management, Bureaucratic management and Administrative management. The major purposes of the school were to develop the basic principles that could guide the design, creation and maintenance of large organisations and to identify the basic functions of managing organizations. (Duening, 2003) The behavioural school or human relation school- this school takes on a managerial approach as to how the role of people affects the success of the organisation. It also emphasises the structure of the organisation and work environment affects their behaviour and performance.it simply states that if the employees are kept in a good working environment then their productivity will increase, which in turn will lead to successful operations of the company. (Duening, 2003) The management science or quantitative school- this school gives us a mathematical representation of the problems that are faced. Therefore when one changes one of the factors in the equation one can anticipate what the result would be in the real world. Important contributions that were made were in the areas of production management and operations management. The contingency /situational or all depends school- this theory implies that every situation that a management faces is unique therefore it is left up to the managers discretion as to how h/she chooses to deal with it. This requires the manager to have a great deal of experience and good judgement. It also states that there is no one best way to deal with a problem. Instead it asserts the need to understand different problems and how to deal with them differently. The system school- the system school saw the organisation as a whole instead of dividing it into bits and pieces. This helped keep in mind the larger picture and that was the achievement of the companys goals rather than those of the individual departments.

Feminism in Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Essay -- Femini

Feminism in Uncle Tom’s Cabin  Ã‚   While Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin overtly deals with the wrongs of slavery from a Christian standpoint, there is a subtle yet strong emphasis on the moral and physical strength of women. Eliza, Eva, Aunt Chloe, and Mrs. Shelby all exhibit remarkable power and understanding of good over evil in ways that most of the male characters in Stowe’s novel. Even Mrs. St. Claire, who is ill throughout most of the book, proves later that she was always physically in control of her actions, however immoral they were. This emotional strength, when compared with the strength of the male characters, shows a belief in women as equals to men (if not more so) uncommon to 19th century literature. In 1848, the first ever Women’s Rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Though Stowe did not attend, many of those who were strong in the abolitionist movement, such as Fredrick Douglas and Amy Post, did. Thus a correlation was drawn between the abolitionist movement and women’s rights. Both fights were about equality, so naturally those who were supportive of emancipation were supportive of gender equality as well. Uncle Tom’s Cabin not only follows the life of Uncle Tom, spanning from the time he is sold from his longtime master until Tom’s death, but also follows the life of Eliza, another slave who lives on the Shelby plantation with Tom as the novel begins. But unl... ...Topsy, but help her repent as well, for Topsy later says, "I will try, I will try; I never did care nothin' about it before" (94). Uncle Tom’s Cabin contains almost as basic of a moral as any story could; love has no physical barriers. The goal of Stowe’s novel is to show that in terms of race. But at the same time Stowe shows it in terms of gender as well. By making the female characters more morally righteous than the male characters and displaying the women’s physical feats more overtly than the men’s, Stowe enables the audience to see a side of women relatively unseen in 19th century American culture. Works Cited Stowe, Harriet Beecher. "Uncle Tom’s Cabin." New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1927    Feminism in Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Essay -- Femini Feminism in Uncle Tom’s Cabin  Ã‚   While Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin overtly deals with the wrongs of slavery from a Christian standpoint, there is a subtle yet strong emphasis on the moral and physical strength of women. Eliza, Eva, Aunt Chloe, and Mrs. Shelby all exhibit remarkable power and understanding of good over evil in ways that most of the male characters in Stowe’s novel. Even Mrs. St. Claire, who is ill throughout most of the book, proves later that she was always physically in control of her actions, however immoral they were. This emotional strength, when compared with the strength of the male characters, shows a belief in women as equals to men (if not more so) uncommon to 19th century literature. In 1848, the first ever Women’s Rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Though Stowe did not attend, many of those who were strong in the abolitionist movement, such as Fredrick Douglas and Amy Post, did. Thus a correlation was drawn between the abolitionist movement and women’s rights. Both fights were about equality, so naturally those who were supportive of emancipation were supportive of gender equality as well. Uncle Tom’s Cabin not only follows the life of Uncle Tom, spanning from the time he is sold from his longtime master until Tom’s death, but also follows the life of Eliza, another slave who lives on the Shelby plantation with Tom as the novel begins. But unl... ...Topsy, but help her repent as well, for Topsy later says, "I will try, I will try; I never did care nothin' about it before" (94). Uncle Tom’s Cabin contains almost as basic of a moral as any story could; love has no physical barriers. The goal of Stowe’s novel is to show that in terms of race. But at the same time Stowe shows it in terms of gender as well. By making the female characters more morally righteous than the male characters and displaying the women’s physical feats more overtly than the men’s, Stowe enables the audience to see a side of women relatively unseen in 19th century American culture. Works Cited Stowe, Harriet Beecher. "Uncle Tom’s Cabin." New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1927   

Pope Urban At Clermont

Pope urban II addressed the urgent need to act upon the Persians and their Napier private behavior. He explains the acts of the Persians and how gruesome they were towards t he empire. Curiously, I saw the ellipsis in the third paragraph and decided to look into the speech h further. The pope further describes the extreme violence the Persians enacted In detail. Pope urban II lets his people know that they need to take action and that Jerusalem belongs to the people of God and that the Persians do not rightfully deserve to own t e land.He makes the people believe that they really need to take action and as soon as possible. He was able to get them to chant â€Å"It Is the will of God, It Is the will of God. † and convinced the m that It was God who made them chant it in unison. He grabs the audience's attention and eke peps them interested enough to actually make them have a sense of pride and want to act or do whatever the Pope wants them to do. This Is extremely similar to c ontemporary politics. It has been done multiple times In the past decade alone.The Pope talks to the people of the empire salary to the way pres dent Bush spoke to people of the United States when going to war with Iraq. Both speakers (Pop e urban II and President Bush) were able to use specific home events to engage the people and make them feel a sense of togetherness as a whole. When President Bush spoke to the united SST dates, he was able to bring the minds and pride of Americans to join together and bring Justice. The e Pope also points out the â€Å"uncleanness† of the Persians; that the people of the empire are much higher than that of the Persians.He convinces them that It Is what is right, when truthfully, he has no Idea what could possible come of It. Similarly, President Barack Obama used a tactic like this when talking about the problems in the middle east. He convinces the public that it is in our best interest to I intervene with middle eastern issues. Pope Urb an II Is able to convince his followers that fighting the Persians is in the best benefit of the people of the empire. He uses Important events to help the people lists

Benjamin Franklin the printer

Of the writing of books, there is no end (Ecclesiastes 12. 12b, New International Version) so the holy bible says and this is no more true than in the case of Benjamin Franklin the printer, a printer, politician, scientist and one of the founding fathers of the United states of America. As such, history writers have always depicted him – as with most other historical figures of note – as a larger than life figure.In this account, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S.   Wood, Benjamin is portrayed as a normal human being with flaws like all other persons, one with lots of clashing views on accepted norms of the day and who always sought to improve himself not by striving against the odds but by remodeling himself as appropriate in order to ensure balance and order in his life and this attribute may be considered one that earns him the phrase â€Å"the man with many masks. † In this account, Gordon has tried to bring forth the true Benjamin as he is not depicted by most other writer.Though not very conclusive on his private life and affairs, it still does shed more light on the kind of man Benjamin was especially the principles of life that he held and how if circumstances demanded he would be flexible in his ways to achieve these life goals. Key among them was frugality and hard work which he preached to all who cared to listen and also practiced from an early age as can be seen by his apprenticeship and eventual elopement and setting up of his own printing press.Gordon as such then depicts Benjamin as most historians have; the virtuous man we have always been made to think Benjamin was. In the day and age when a father’s love was mostly to his first born son, Benjamin did not enjoy much attention from his father and this may have led to his character of not revealing much about who he really was and coming from a Puritanism family he also can have acquired the self enlightenment trait which caused him to have and ho ld his own opinion on almost every other norm of that day.In this way, Benjamin would be portrayed as an individual who driven by prior lack tries to right things so as to satisfy an emptiness within himself which is an aspect not seen in other works about him. Reading through the book for anyone not necessarily a fan of Benjamin Franklin or colonial history, this book stirs in one a deeper desire to get to know this man how he lived his life and how this impacted on life and politics of the day and future- our present generation. Not being a critic of Benjamin, Gordon merely pierces the veil on who Benjamin really was and this account written in real life can be considered a worth having book.Simple in plot and easy to follow plot, one is able to visualize Franklin as he was and also answer questions about him that are otherwise obscured in the mythological figure that he has been turned into. Raised in a lowly family of a soap and candle making father, Benjamin’s impoverish ed childhood and adolescence, stirred in him â€Å"an anger† with the wealthy for their seemingly easy life and mannerism, this in itself spurred his ambition to rise from a commoner into a gentleman so as to be able to pursue his other interests; social advocacy and science.The book gives an explanation about how this persona grew and why it grew. Franklin is seen as the man of his age who rose from a nobody, into a self-made â€Å"gentleman†, a leading diplomat and scientist revered by all especially in Europe where he served his diplomatic duties. Through sheer hard work, frugality in spending and cultivation of important friends, he was able to amass enough wealth by age 42 (in 1748) to retire from business and begin pursuing his other desires.It is during this period while pursuing one of his desires – serving the public good- that he was sent to England to represent the American colonies interests to the British that a transformation began to occur. Wood e xposes Benjamin as an ardent supporter of the Royal British Crown, who could not envisage an independent colony free of control from the king and who thought of the king as being wisdom itself and more humane than the parliament of the day.He cherished the thought of a unified â€Å"†¦glorious English empire†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but this began to change from 1765 when parliament imposed the stamp act, one which he strongly opposed, on the colonies. At home, Benjamin was seen to be part of it by recommending a friend as stamp distributor for Pennsylvania an action he quickly regretted and made him champion the repeal of the act – this act earned him repute at home but enemies in England – and opened his eyes to the colonies increasing resistance to crown control.It also reinforced his increasing discontent with England and marked the completion of his Americanization. He henceforth became a supporter of the revolution demanding independence from England. Back home in 177 5 after completing his tour in England, Franklin was appointed as ambassador of the American colony to France a country he had in his earlier years fought against during the seven year’s war. His handling of his country’s affairs in France: securing their support in the revolution war against England reveals his diplomatic and charming traits.He was able to make many friends and his reputation as a true American was more upheld by these new friends mostly the French who helped create the mythical figure we today know of Benjamin Franklin. This made Franklin indispensable to the success of the emerging young American nation in Europe. Woods shows that Franklin as an individual who could easily take a situation and use it to achieve his goals. In France, the French believing he was a Quaker, he played the part so well to continually reaffirm this held belief and thus to them he was a symbol of republican simplicity – an ends to a good in Franklins view.His Poor Ri chard’s Almanac was considered to true a moral philosophy by the French that they deemed him as a symbol of true democracy, an image they helped create and propagate and one still held by today’s America. Though wood does not elaborate on it, we may never know for sure if this was Franklin’s intention or just a happenstance that he just rode on to achieve his goals. On the issue of principle, Wood does depict Benjamin as a puritan who strongly upheld and advocated principle.He shows Franklin as an individual who was consistent in thought but also explores instances where due to circumstances around him, Franklin had to change his view even though his fundamental principles remained unchanged. This Wood has expertly brought out in a way that apart from showing Franklin’s strong and flexible character also reveals though just a bit, his ability to switch masks quickly and play the new role with perfection and zeal unimaginable.Finally, towards the end of hi s life, Franklin a former slaveholder despised and strongly fought against owning slaves preferring personal hard work as a source of satisfaction and thus helping change the view of social mobility and dignity of manual labor among the Americans later on after his death. Wood doesn’t claim to be exhaustive about Franklin in this account but does delve a lot into his professional life exposing the man we think we know in new light that most of us do not know but still seeming to revere him as a true American, indeed as â€Å"the first American†.Benjamin Franklin still remains difficult a subject to understand but his life does serve as a valuable teaching tool as well as a reference point for most of the political and day to day life of America, the symbol of true capitalism with its goods but minus its evils. An imperialist turned patriot, scientist, inventor, businessman, politician; Franklin still had a social and private life which is not well explored and explaine d as much in depth as his public life in this account.In conclusion, this account provides the reader with a true insight of who Benjamin Franklin was without all the mythical nature we have always been taught to believe of him. Room still exists for further exposition of Benjamin Franklin but this account can be considered to be among the best in demystifying Benjamin and exposing him as human and wrought with shortcomings which he did not allow to peg him down but used them to move on.He himself acknowledged his shortcomings and did not try to prove to be above or better than others but extolled the adherence to trying to live a principled life above all else. It is an interesting and enlightening read worth anyone interested in learning more about the founding fathers and colonial America. ? References Wood G. S. , (2004). The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. New York, NY: penguin publishers